The Health KTN and UK Health Data Analytics Network (UK-HDAN) invite practitioners and industry experts to attend one of their regional workshops to contribute to a UK health data analytics roadmap for funders and policy-makers.

There is general recognition that health data analytics will play a critical role in transforming health and social care, but relatively poor understanding of the current UK landscape, research priorities and barriers to translation. Their aim is to provide a clear statement of opportunities and challenges that will help shape a national action plan for health data analytics.

The UK-HDAN is a newly formed community of health data scientists (current membership 350) working together to map the landscape and inform a national strategy for health data analytics research. They are particularly keen to draw on insights from industry colleagues and other practitioners to ensure they present a holistic picture – from long-term research to translation into practice – and develop partnerships that will drive innovation and put the UK at the forefront of the field internationally.

They have organised a series of regional workshops across England (Sheffield, Newcastle and Birmingham). Each event will run from 10:00 to 15:00 with a lunch provided and will allow a high degree of participation. If you are interested, please use one of the links below to reserve your place at one of the workshops or, if you can’t attend but want to know about future activities, join UK-HDAN.

Our definitions

Telehealth and Telecare Aware posts pointers to a broad range of news items. Authors of those items often use terms 'telecare' and telehealth' in inventive and idiosyncratic ways. Telecare Aware's editors can generally live with that variation. However, when we use these terms we usually mean:

• Telecare: from simple personal alarms (AKA pendant/panic/medical/social alarms, PERS, and so on) through to smart homes that focus on alerts for risk including, for example: falls; smoke; changes in daily activity patterns and 'wandering'. Telecare may also be used to confirm that someone is safe and to prompt them to take medication. The alert generates an appropriate response to the situation allowing someone to live more independently and confidently in their own home for longer.

• Telehealth: as in remote vital signs monitoring. Vital signs of patients with long term conditions are measured daily by devices at home and the data sent to a monitoring centre for response by a nurse or doctor if they fall outside predetermined norms. Telehealth has been shown to replace routine trips for check-ups; to speed interventions when health deteriorates, and to reduce stress by educating patients about their condition.

Telecare Aware's editors concentrate on what we perceive to be significant events and technological and other developments in telecare and telehealth. We make no apology for being independent and opinionated or for trying to be interesting rather than comprehensive.